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Opinion of Kingman's Performance

Monday, May 23, 2011

It was a Perfect Day for a No-No

As I write this, it is 5:37 PM and Kershaw is pitching in the second inning and has retired the first 4 hitters he has faced.

In my mind I have written about Clayton Kershaw pitching a no-hitter many times. If he was able to face the Dodgers, I’d say he could do it a few times each year, but unfortunately for Kid K, that isn’t the case. I believe that the day of Clayton’s no-no will arrive soon. Today’s game against the lowly Houston Astros seems to me like the most likely of days when he can accomplish the feat.

Here are my reasons why:

First, Houston is about the most inept and punchless lineup in the National League. At least we have Kemp and Ethier. Who does Houston have that is a legitimate threat?

Second, there is the pitching near his home theory. Houston is about as close as Kershaw will get to pitching near his Dallas suburb home. So there is a motivation factor.

Third, we have not much else to root for this season, so it might as well be a great individual accomplishment, like a no-hitter.

Fourth, and most importantly, home plate umpire, Bill Welke, is an umpire known to have a relatively liberal strike zone. In fact, Welke, Eddings and Bill Miller have been reported to have the most pitcher friendly strike zones in the game.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-outside-corner/

If Kershaw is able to stay ahead in counts, that will play a major role in him retiring the side over and over.

So if by the fifth inning, Clayton is spinning a no-no...watch out!

Guess what?...just as I wrote that sentence, the scrub of all scrubs, Bill Hall, doubled to deep right field off of Jay Gibbons glove.